Letter: The police shouldn’t police our politics
(Paighten Harkins | Tribune file photo) Protesters and onlookers watch as Salt Lake City police move in on a group of protesters occupying Washington Square Park on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2020.
I hesitate to write a letter criticizing the police after they've stated that ideas can put a citizen in conflict with authority. But, that feeling tells me I should.
After removing peaceful protesters from City Hall recently, KSL quotes Salt Lake City Detective Greg Wilking as saying, “[the protesters] are choosing politically polarizing causes that put them in direct conflict with authority...”
It is the right of our citizenship to choose whatever political orientation or cause that suits them. No matter how absurd, contrary or polarizing, an American citizens’ political beliefs cannot place them in direct conflict with authority.
It is not the job of the police to pass judgment on what our politics may or may not be. Instead, they are nobly charged to keep us all safe.
Chris Sanger, Salt Lake City
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